It has always been considered over-the-line to attack the family of your political enemies, but liberals believe those rules don’t apply when it comes to Donald Trump. Him, they hate so much that they’re willing to even go after his children. It’s disgusting, it’s hypocritical and as you are about to see, it’s very, very liberal.

“Barron Trump autistic? If so – what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.”

After she was buried in an avalanche of grief over her attacks on a 10-year-old, Rosie said she meant no harm because speculating about how other people’s children may have some disorder is apparently what caring people do.

When Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, much of the nation was surprised by the loss. He was the first American killed in Afghanistan this year. To help cover the expenses for his family, a friend set up a GoFundMe account. The goal was to raise $15,000. The actual response has been much better than expected.

The GoFundMe page, which has only been active for a couple of days, has raised more than they expected. The page has raised close to $300,000 for the family.

Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar was working with Afghan troops when he was shot. He was 37. He left behind a wife and five kids. Nikki Damron set up the GoFundMe page. She and her husband were friends with De Alencar and his wife.

Researchers have come up with a new way to extract water from thin air. Literally.

This isn't the first technology that can turn water vapor in the atmosphere into liquid water that people can drink, but researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, say their approach uses less power and works in drier environments.

The new approach makes use of a substance called a MOF, a metal-organic framework. As the name suggests, these are materials made of metals mixed with organic compounds. Powders made from MOFs are very porous, so researchers have proposed using them to store hydrogen or methane fuels or to capture carbon dioxide.

MIT's Evelyn Wang and her Berkeley colleague Omar Yaghi decided to try using MOFs to capture water. MOF powders can not only suck up liquid water, they can also absorb water vapor.

And there's plenty of water vapor in the atmosphere. Even in the driest place on the planet there are tons of water molecules floating overhead.

This week, the Chesapeake Bay Program along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report on work being done to increase oyster reefs. It's part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Among the goals outlined in the agreement is the restoration of native oyster habitat and populations in 10 tributaries by 2025.

For Maryland, this is the sixth annual update on oyster restoration efforts. The main targets of restoration right now are Harris Creek, Little Choptank River and Tred Avon River on the Eastern Shore.

As adults, we all kind of have at least a vague peripheral sense that the devices and software we use are probably up to some kind of shenanigans with our personal data. Kids, however, are probably not thinking as closely about what they tell the devices they use, and what data those devices then share — especially if they’re school-owned tools. And yet, a new report finds, some of the learning technology schoolchildren are required to use every day are some of the worst when it comes to explaining and protecting users’ privacy.

The EFF’s new “Spying on Students” report [PDF] pulls together two years’ worth of research and data trying to find out whether educational technology (ed tech) companies are protecting students’ privacy. The answer is, unfortunately, largely not.

One third of all K-12 students are using school-issued ed tech devices, the EFF finds. About half are Chromebooks, and more than 30 million total students, teachers, and administrators are using Google’s education suite of software. And parents are being largely left in the dark.

A Kent Island home builder once singled out as an example of renewable energy projects in Maryland must pay more than $400,000 in restitution and fines for signing contracts with homebuyers and then walking away, the state Attorney General's Office said Thursday.

Nexus EnergyHomes of Stevensville violated the Home Builder Registration Act and other state laws, according to a final order released by the office. The Consumer Protection Division required the builder to replay the families $151,010, plus $235,567 in damages, $32,000 in penalties and $6,446 in costs.

The Attorney General's Office said Nexus EnergyHomes and its founders, CEO Vincent Paul Zanecki of Annapolis and President Michael W. Murphy, signed contracts with 12 families in Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Queen Anne's counties, took substantial deposits for homes at a planned development in Frederick and then failed to complete them.

Nexus EnergyHomes has since closed, and neither the principals nor their attorneys could be reached for comment Thursday.

Nexus EnergyHomes and Zanecki were singled out for praise in former Gov. Martin O'Malley's 2012 State of the State address for the project in Frederick County, North Pointe GeoSolar Community. O'Malley said companies like Nexus EnergyHomes — which specialized in designing, selling and building pre-fab homes that were "net zero" users of energy — put Maryland at the forefront of renewable energy projects.

Two months after JCPenney announced it would shutter 138 stores across the country amid falling sales, the company says it is delaying those closings as customers have apparently started shopping with the retailer again.

CNBC reports that JCPenney is pushing back the end date for the 138 stores earmarked for closing this year by at least a month.

A spokesperson for the company says that the stores on the closing list have recently experienced “better-than-expected sales and traffic” since the February announcement.

“This is not an uncommon response when you announce a store closure,” the rep said. “Local shoppers will come out for a variety of reasons — some out of nostalgia and some who are just looking for a great deal.”

As a result, the retailer says it is “prudent to continue” selling merchandise at the stores at the “current promotional level.”

DOVER — Lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill to place a tax on short-term vacation rental units, including campgrounds and bed and breakfasts.

House Bill 130 would expand the already-existing 8 percent public accommodation tax placed on hotels. The state estimates adding it to other dwellings would bring in between $8-$11 million on an annual basis.

The tax would be allocated in the same way as funds collected from hotels: 5 percent would go to the Delaware General Fund, 1 percent would fund the Delaware Tourism Office, 1 percent would cover beach preservation and 1 percent would go to convention and visitors’ bureaus in each county.

A short-term rental unit is defined as a place used for no more than 120 days.

“I am typically the last person to want to impose any kind of tax in Delaware,” main sponsor Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Hockessin, said in a statement. “However, in this case, I think the circumstances are different. This is a tax that is not being collected equally.

OCEAN CITY — There will not be new regulations regarding bow-riding this summer after proposed legislation filed late in the game stalled out as the General Assembly session expired this week.

In the wake of several serious boating accidents in the resort last summer, including a fatal propeller strike that claimed the life of a child in August, Ocean City’s representatives in Annapolis, including Senator Jim Mathias and Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, and Boat Act Advisory Committee in December, decided a regulatory remedy could be expedited rather than going the legislative route.

However, about halfway through the General Assembly session, for reasons unknown, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration reversed course and decided adding new regulations regarding bow-riding would more appropriately be achieved through legislation.

Mathias and Carozza then submitted cross-filed bills, which did make it out of their respective Rules Committees, but the legislation never saw the light of day as the session expired at midnight on Monday.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Groton sentenced Kimberly Hinkley to three years’ probation, including two years supervised, on Monday in Snow Hill after she pleaded guilty to slashing her boyfriend during a drunken argument.

Hinkley, 50, of Ocean City, was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and possessing a dangerous weapon for attacking Mark James Bell in November. She pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a $2,500 fine, citing her reoccurring alcohol abuse.

“I don’t know what it is when I drink, but I get in trouble. At 50, I’m tired of it and I’m ready to get a grip on it,” Hinkley told the court.

According to a statement of facts, Hinkley had called Bell on Nov. 14 and later met him in West Ocean City to buy an 18-pack of beer and two bottles of whiskey. The couple later went to a storage unit in West Ocean City to “hang out and drink.” During the early hours of Nov. 15, Bell and Hinkley apparently argued, and Hinkley stabbed Bell in the chest with a pocket knife.

SOMERSET COUNTY, April 15, 2017 - Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office and the Princess Anne Police Department have concluded a fire investigation which has lead to the arrest of a female. The fire, which occurred on April 14, 2017 around 2:51 pm, damaged a billboard sign in the area of 12138 Carol Lane in Princess Anne of Somerset County. The billboard was owned by Robert Wink and located in the nearby shopping center. Investigation revealed unknown suspect(s) intentionally set the billboard on fire due to political differences with the billboard postings, and caused approximately $800 in damages. The Princess Anne Fire Department responded to the fire after a passer-by called 911, and extinguished the fire within a few minutes.

The investigation developed D'Asia R. Perry (19) of Baltimore as a suspect. Perry was identified as the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident. She was located on the campus of University of Maryland Eastern Shore and taken into custody. Subsequently, Perry has been charged with Second Degree Arson, four counts of Second Degree Malicious Burning, six counts of Second Degree Malicious Destruction of Property, Trespassing, Obstruction & Hindering, and the Commission of a Hate Crime. Perry was taken to the Somerset County Commissioner and later released on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

Investigators are looking for more information in reference to a second suspect involved in the incident. The second suspect was seen with Perry in a vehicle identified as a newer model silver, Volkswagen Bettle. Anyone with any information in reference to this incident is asked to call the State Fire Marshal's Office at 410-713-3780 or the Arson Hotline at 1-800-492-7529. All callers may remain anonymous.

A Manhattan woman found a discarded box of the emergency contraception Plan B in her boyfriend’s trash and immediately thought he’d been cheating.

But the reality was far worse. Instead, he admitted he dissolved the drug in a glass of juice to make sure she couldn’t get pregnant, the 36-year-old woman alleges in a new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Hyosun Kim is suing ­neuroradiologist John Nwankwo Ikechi, 37, for $5 million for emotional ­anguish.

“I can’t even fathom how violated she feels especially because he’s a doctor,” said Kim’s attorney, Christine Bae.

SNOW HILL – Three new officers, increased overtime costs and the need to update equipment highlighted the budget request presented by Sheriff Reggie Mason this week.

During a work session Tuesday, Mason presented the Worcester County Commissioners with a request for just under $8 million in funding for the coming year. The request is 11 percent more than the department received for the current fiscal year.

“I know it’s hard and money is tight but if we want to keep Worcester County safe I need money and equipment to do the job,” Mason said.

The budget proposed by Mason includes a 9 percent increase in personnel funding to allow for the hiring of three new deputies and to cover rising overtime costs. The department had $237,910 budgeted for overtime in FY 2017 but as of Dec. 31 had already exceeded that amount. This year, Mason is requesting $463,409 for overtime.

The scandal-ridden San Francisco bank admitted Thursday that it saw drastic declines in new applications for credit cards and checking accounts, two key products that were at the center of Wells’ cross-selling controversy.

Credit card applications plunged by 42 percent, to 200,000, during the first three months of the year, the bank said in its earnings release. New checking account applications fell by 35 percent, to 400,000.

Last week, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended the bank give the boot to 80 percent of its board for failing to detect the fake-accounts scandal, which last year led to a $185 million settlement with government agencies and the ouster of the bank’s last CEO, John Stumpf.

Earlier this week, the bank put out its own report blaming Stumpf and the former head of retail banking, Carrie Tolstedt. The board clawed back $75 million in compensation from the disgraced duo.

UPDATE: The larger images above is my Brother in 1980, (left) and 2017, (right) in the exact same spot before they sink the ship. After several months' delay, the ship that helped rescue seven people during "the Perfect Storm" is scheduled to be sunk off the New Jersey and Delaware coast next week, state officials said Tuesday evening.

The Coast Guard cutter Tamaroa will join other ships forming an artificial reef about 26 miles off Cape May at ceremony next Tuesday, barring bad weather, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The 73-year-old ship, which also had a distinguished career in World War II, had been scheduled to be sunk late last year. It was delayed when lab tests confirming the ship was free from cancer-causing PCBs — a prerequisite before sinking — came in later than expected.

The sinking comes a few months after the 25th anniversary of "the Perfect Storm," a confluence of three weather systems off the New England Coast in October 1991 that generated 40-foot waves and wind gusts over 70 mph.

BERLIN – A Berlin resident has plans to host the town’s first “Earth Day Blessing of the Wheels” event April 22 at Stephen Decatur Park.

Gussie Sholtis, creator and coordinator of the event, said most days she sees bikes, strollers and the like pass by the window of her real estate office on Main Street, and after reading a book that mentioned a blessing for bikes at a church in Colorado, she decided to take action.

“Not only do I work in town, I’ve lived here for 22 years,” she said. “Everyone I know gets around this town on a bike, so it made perfect sense to have a ‘Blessing of the Wheels’ for our town. It’s also a good opportunity to show awareness for this major form of transportation for so many.”

By our calculation, it took just 76 days for President Trump to get on board with the Clinton-Bush-Obama agenda.

Now there can be no doubt where he’s headed. He’s gone Full Empire.

Not that it was unexpected. But the speed with which the president abandoned his supporters and went over to the Deep State is breathtaking.

Worst Mistake

Among the noise and hubbub of the election campaign, there was one message coming from the Trump team that was music to our ears.

Middle East wars?

He was against them, he said.

He claimed to have opposed the 2003 attack on Iraq. He said it was one of the “worst mistakes” the country ever made.

As for further involvement, why waste American lives and American wealth on wars you can’t win?

“America First,” he said.

This was a refreshing position. It put the Republican neocons and Establishment Republicans against him; many went over to Hillary rather than risk giving up their think tank grants and consulting fees.

A 2013 poll showed 52% of Americans thought the U.S. should “mind its own business internationally.”

More than $42 million has poured into President Donald Trump's campaign coffers and the Republican National Committee since January — twice the amount raised for former President Barack Obama following the 2008 election, The Washington Post reported.

According to Federal Election Commission filings and party officials, much of the $42.6 million came from small donors who gave less than $200 in email solicitations, the Post reported.

More than 250,000 new contributors have given online to Trump's campaign committee or the RNC so far this year.

The haul is more than twice the $15.8 million Obama raised in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee during the first quarter of 2009.

China issued a warning Friday regarding the tense situation in North Korea, saying "storm clouds" are "gathering" in the region and the threat of war is inching closer and closer.

"The United States and South Korea and North Korea are engaging in tit for tat, with swords drawn and bows bent, and there have been storm clouds gathering," said China's foreign minister Wang Yi, according to The New York Times.

"We urge all sides to no longer engage in mutual provocation and threats, whether through words or deeds, and don't push the situation to the point where it can't be turned around and gets out of hand.

"No matter who it is, if they let war break out on the peninsula, they must shoulder that historical culpability and pay the corresponding price for this."

President Donald Trump has taken a hard stance against North Korea's military aggression. Reports say that the reclusive nation may conduct a nuclear test this weekend. The U.S. sent a Navy strike group led by the U.S.S. Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the region to keep a close eye on things.

The Trump administration has announced it will end the public release of White House visitor logs, bringing an end to a policy introduced during the Barack Obama presidency.

In a statement from their communications director, Michael Dubke, the White House claimed the logs presented “grave national security risks and privacy concerns,” adding that stopping their release was the only way Trump could confer with advisers “with some discretion.”

From now on, only certain logs will be available through freedom of information requests, such as in the Office of Management and Budget. However, visits to the president and White House senior staff will not be logged.

The decision to end the logs release is predicated on a 2013 federal appeals court ruling that excludes the logs from the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds they could contain sensitive information.

Though strongly opposed by resort business owners and officials, the Maryland Healthy Families Act was passed by a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly and now sits on Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk waiting for his signature or veto.

Should the governor decide not to endorse the legislation, it will still become law without his signature, and a veto probably wouldn’t even cause a delay before the provisions become active on Jan. 1, 2018. Should he veto it, lawmakers can vote to override his rejection when the next session begins on Jan. 8.

But the resort ended up getting a little bit of what it wanted.

Under the legislation, business owners with more than 14 employees are required to provide one hour of paid sick leave, at the rate the employee usually earns, for every 30 hours worked. Firms with fewer than 14 workers must provide one hour of unpaid leave for every 30 hours worked.

Just over two months ago, the Atlanta Fed "calculated" that Q1 GDP was going to be a pleasant 3.4%, confirming that the Fed had made the correct decision by hiking not only in December, but also last month. Since then, the Fed's own GDP estimate has crashed in almost linear fashion, and as of this morning - after the latest disappointing retail sales report - it had plunged to just 0.5%, which if accurate would make Q1 the weakest quarter going back three years to Q1 2014.

The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2017 is 0.5 percent on April 14, down from 0.6 percent on April 7. The forecast for first-quarter real consumer spending growth fell from 0.6 percent to 0.3 percent after this morning's retail sales report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Consumer Price Index release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Third Suspect Arrested for February Shooting, Charged with Attempted 1st Degree Murder

On February 15, 2017, two men, 20 and 28 years-old , were shot in the rear of the 1800 block of N. Smallwood Avenue. This double shooting happened as a result of a robbery gone bad.

Citywide shooting detectives responded out and assumed control of the investigation.

Detectives identified three suspects and soon after obtained arrest warrants. Two of the three suspect were arrested in February and March of 2017 and were charged with assault and handgun violations.

On April 12, 2017, the third suspect, 24 year-old Ronald Goines of the 1100 block of Whatcoat Street, was arrested by members of the Warrant Apprehension Task Force in the 4000 block of Frederick Avenue.

Goines has been identified as the shooter in this case and has been charged with 1st Degree Attempted Murder. He is now in Central Booking waiting to see a court commissioner.

Welcome to California. It is a state of a perfect set of laws – at least in the minds of those wedded to the legislative pursuit of social justice. Under the one-party Democrat rules, spending on fairness tops $100 billion every year. Meanwhile, the basic infrastructure of the state, so necessary for the economy long and short term, is collapsing.

The California legislature has been busy making the news these days. They are determined to fight President Trump tooth and nail – and they are putting the taxpayers’ money where the legislature’s mouth is.

California Democrat after Democrat has decried President Trump. The day after the election, a “Joint Statement from California Legislative Leaders on Result of Presidential Election,” issued in part by California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (formerly Kevin Leon), stated:

A reporter asked President Trump today if droppingthe largest non-nuclear bomb in the American arsenal on ISIS in Afghanistan had sent a message to North Korea. His response was EPIC…

President Trump:“I don’t know if this sends a message, it doesn’t make any difference if it does or not.

North Korea is a problem, but the problem will be taken care of.”

Kim Jong Un’s father and himself as predecessor as Supreme Leader of North Korea may have finally fulfilled a goal to make North Korea a threat that the U.S. could not afford to ignore, at least they’re ‘a problem’ according to President Trump.

The provision of minerals plays a stronger role in saving lives from mortal heart attacks than any array of cardiac drugs including calcium blockers, beta blockers, and statin cholesterol-lowering drugs. Dietary fortification with major mineral electrolytes that control heart rhythm such as potassium and magnesium would save far more lives than statin drugs.

There is more evidence that zinc can reduce mortality rates for coronary artery disease than there is for statin cholesterol-lowering drugs. A recent analysis shows statin drugs only prevent non-mortal heart attacks.

Zinc inhibits the formation of plaque (atherosclerosis) in the inner lining of arteries by virtue of its displacement of iron and reduced oxidation (hardening) of LDL cholesterol.

There is confusing science when it comes to understanding zinc and its ability to prevent atherosclerosis. Failure to sort out that confusion has cost millions of lives.

Mineral supplement users are often advised to maintain a zinc/copper balance (10 to 1?) so as not to raise circulating cholesterol levels. Yet up to 45 milligrams of zinc has been used without accompanying copper without adverse effects.

Failed zinc studies may be explained by rapid excessive zinc supplementation that can induce zinc to bind strongly to its carrier protein (metallothionein) and render it non-bioavailable. In this case, blood serum levels of zinc would be in the above normal range but zinc would not be bioavailable.

There are many confounding factors (zinc depleting drugs, high fructose corn syrup, copper piping and alcohol, calcium and iron pills that block zinc absorption) that are often not accounted for in controlled studies and obscure the realization that zinc therapy is an obvious way to save lives.

Supplemental zinc is suggested for all adults to maintain healthy arteries. Dosage and forms of zinc are provided at the end of this report.

Things just go REAL for Susan Rice. She is mostly likely regretting being so devoted to…well…Satan.

Now the investigation being ran by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are going from looking into things to turning this whole thing into a full blown investigation. They are planning to pull out ALL the stops.

They are dedicated to getting down to the bottom of Susan Rice’s alleged “unmasking” of U.S. persons who just so happen to be part of surveillance of foreign officials.

“We will be performing an accounting of all unmasking for political purposes focused on the previous White House administration. This is now a full-blown investigation,” the committee member said.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios of the FBI’s Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Detroit Field Office made the announcement.

Jumana Nagarwala, M.D., of Northville, Michigan, is charged with performing FGM on minor girls out of a medical office in Livonia, Michigan. According to the complaint, some of the minor victims allegedly traveled interstate to have Nagarwala perform the procedure. The complaint alleges that Nagarwala performed FGM on girls who were approximately 6 to 8 years old. This is believed to be the first case brought under 18 U.S.C. 116, which criminalizes FGM. Nagarwala was arrested and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit this afternoon.

Okay, Sanders is off his meds again. Now he’s ranting that President Trump will be a one-term President. Then he went on to gush how it is the time of the Progressives and that they will dominate once again. Delusions of grandeur and communism much? Yes, Trump’s numbers are bad, but that doesn’t mean Americans choose Marxists. And he gets rejection of the healthcare bill all wrong. It wasn’t shot down because it went too far, it was shot down because it didn’t go anywhere far enough. We want a full repeal of Obamacare and then the free market to take over.

And I fail to see how Trump’s policies hurt the poor… if anything they are helping them in many ways. This whole insurance argument is stupid. Before Obamacare, when you went to the emergency room, if you didn’t have insurance, you could work out a payment plan. Now, you are just screwed… so just stop it already. I read somewhere this morning, that you have to make a minimum of $46,000 a year just to afford Obamacare. How does that help the poor? It devastates them. The budget cuts Trump is doing should boost the economy and benefit everyone by the way. Just as cutting taxes will.

According to The Daily Caller News Foundation, the figures in the LA Times article "only refer to the cost of the Air Force's biggest bunker busting bomb, the 5,300 pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), or GBU-57, which is built by private defense contractor Boeing Company."

The Daily Caller continues to explant that "while the two bomb types are related, they serve different functions," and that "the MOAB, like its Daisy Cutter predecessor, can only be dropped out of a C-130 built by Lockheed Martin, and the MOP is deployed from the B-2, a Boeing aircraft."

BEL AIR, MD: Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) will attend several public events in Maryland’s First District during the April recess. Please contact Jacque Clark at Jacque.Clark@mail.house.gov if you would like to attend any of these events.

Tuesday, April 18

11:15 AM – 11:45 AM

Visit to Benedictine School

14299 Benedictine Lane

Ridgely, MD 21660

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

Agriculture Industry Roundtable Discussion

Triple Creek Winery

11138 Three Bridge Branch Road

Cordova, MD 21625

Wednesday, April 19

8:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Office Hours at Salisbury District Office

100 East Main Street, Suite #702

Salisbury, MD 21801

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Habitat for Humanity 30th Anniversary Kickoff

423 Coles Circle

Salisbury, MD 21801

Thursday, April 20

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Tour of High Impact Environmental Inc.

301 Pond Lane

Chestertown, MD 21620

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Tour of Langenfelder Pork

11974 Blacks Station Road

Kennedyville, MD 21645

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Visit to Composites USA

1 Peninsula Drive

North East, MD 21901

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Susquehanna Workforce Network Roundtable Discussion

Harford Community College, University Center, Room #119

1201 Technology Drive

Aberdeen, Maryland 21001

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Visit to the Boys & Girls Club of Harford County

McFaul Activities Center

525 W. MacPhail Road

Bel Air, MD 21014

6:30 PM – 6:45 PM

Military Service Academy Resource Forum

Bel Air High School

100 Heighe Street

Bel Air, MD 21014

*This event will begin at 6:00, and Dr. Harris will speak at approximately 6:30

The circumstantial evidence is mounting that the Kremlin succeeded in infiltrating the US government at the highest levels.

How else to explain a newly elected president looking the other way after an act of Russian aggression? Agreeing to a farcically one-sided nuclear deal? Mercilessly mocking the idea that Russia represents our foremost geo-political foe?

Accommodating the illicit nuclear ambitions of a Russian ally? Welcoming a Russian foothold in the Middle East? Refusing to provide arms to a sovereign country invaded by Russia? Diminishing our defenses and pursuing a Moscow-friendly policy of hostility to fossil fuels?

All of these items, of course, refer to things said or done by President Barack Obama.

To take them in order: He re-set with Russia shortly after its clash with Georgia in 2008. He concluded the New START agreement with Moscow that reduced our nuclear forces but not theirs. When candidate Mitt Romney warned about Russia in the 2012 campaign, Obama rejected him as a Cold War relic.

The US's Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb does not cost $314 million, or $16 million, but $170,000 a unit, the US Air Force told Business Insider on Friday.

The weapon, whose acronym inspired the nickname "Mother of All Bombs," was produced by the Air Force, not by a third party like Lockheed or Boeing, "so we don't have a standard procurement cost associated with them," an Air Force official said.

The $170,000 figure makes sense considering a general-purpose 1,000-pound MK-83 costs about $12,000. The MOAB simply features more high explosives and larger fins to direct the GPS-guided munition.

We used data and science to analyze which places in MD are redneck heaven.

Is there anything really wrong with being called a Maryland redneck? Sure, every state has them. While they might be defined with a different criteria in other states, there’s plenty of them all over up there.

Wait. What is a redneck anyways? Well, according to the official bible of literature, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a redneck is:

“A white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.”

Plus, we thought why not add in a few stereotypes? Cause, you know, rednecks like to hunt, fish, drink, smoke and shoot things. And shop at Walmart.

Using that criteria, it’s not hard to scrape the internet, run some scientific data on where the most members of the Maryland redneck family tree most likely live. Most of these places probably won’t surprise you.

In April 2016, the Wicomico County Health Department along with State's Attorney Matthew Maciarello approached Executive Bob Culver and presented a plan for a pilot program entitled Community Outreach Additions Team (COAT). The plan included peer support specialists who were able to help those battling addiction with treatment services and in-kind services by other Health Department staff.

On June 6, 2016, the team began to accept calls for this service. The COAT program has exceeded all expectations. The team not only has helped individuals in recovery, but they have also assisted families and friends of those suffering through this battle. Linking families to support programs and answering questions that only an addict could answer has been a very beneficial resource for the community.

Through an MOU with the hospital we now have an unprecedented relationship to respond to any drug or alcohol related call in the emergency department at PRMC.

Since the program began in June 2016, the Team has received 179 calls for 162 individuals battling some sort of addiction. We are pleased to share that 56% of those individuals have accessed some form of community-based treatment service.

COAT has been selected as a Promising Practice by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). With this recognition, the Department intends to submit the program to NACCHO as a Model Practice later this year. This national recognition honors outstanding evidence-based public health practices.

City Park meant different things to different people. If you were of Little League age in the 1950’s, City Park meant the ball field across the road from Picnic Island. I played there the only year West Salisbury Little League played there – 1955, when I was an 11-year-old. To a kid, it was just a step down from Yankee Stadium. There were big crowds every night and the concession stand behind home plate did a booming business.

There were mothers in the stands that could be heard above the din when their son came to bat. Now, it can be hard to take for an 11-year-old to listen to a grown-up saying derogatory things about his pitching skills just because her son was at bat. There was no mercy or “politically correct” behavior in those days. It was part of our experience of growing up.

I pitched for the Knights of Columbus team and had none other than Joe Long as our manager. He was a legendary baseball figure in Shore baseball, but all of his former skills could not improve the sad lot he was entrusted to manage. One game in particular was personally embarrassing. I was pitching and we were losing 25-2. I looked over at Joe imploring him to take me out, but he just gave me another “hubba-hubba”, and let his little rag arm pitcher suffer the humiliation of a lop-sided loss. I guess this was just another experience to be suffered during the “growing-up” process.
The following year they opened up a Little League field out by the college. I remember going through the woods north of the Allenwood Shopping Center to get there. But it was not the same as playing down at City Park. If the players of today could only experience playing on the fields we had, they would appreciate the manicured fields that have taken so much time and effort to make them that way. Even though it only had a dirt infield and snow fences in the outfield, the setting was something I have not seen in Salisbury since.

One game in particular stands out in my memory. My grandfather was a great baseball fan, but he didn’t know anything about the psychology of the young mind. He came to one particular game and declared that he would give any player a dollar if they got a hit – five dollars for a home run. Well, you can imagine the results of a bunch of young boys with minimal batting skills and visions of money dancing in their heads. I am not sure if we got a hit or not, but we sure took some hefty swings. Just as today, money changes the way we get results.

Here's the pertinent portion of the exchange between Morgan and host Tucker Carlson:

CARLSON: "You sent out a tweet right after this [bombing in Egypt] saying: 'This will not get the attention of massacres is Europe, but it should.' Why won't it, do you think?"

MORGAN: "I think, unfortunately, if it happens in the Middle East, this kind of atrocity, it just does not seem to attract the kind of media attention in America that it would if it happened, as we've seen with the attacks in Sweden, the last few days, in London two weeks ago. I was there for that - huge attention in the American Media. In Paris, in Nice, these get huge attention. And yet what happened in Egypt was unbelievably significant.

If you look at what ISIS really stands for, what they are carrying out now in the Middle East - and in Egypt in particular - is a kind of genocidal attack on Christians and Christianity. They want Christianity eradicated. They want to convert all Muslims to their crusade, they want it to be a holy war; they want Christians gone.

And I don't think that narrative is getting the attention it should get in the American media..."

Japan is finalizing plans to evacuate 60,000 of its citizens from South Korea in the event of war as tensions between the United States and North Korea continue to build.

Japan’s National Security Council has held urgent discussions on how it would provide safe passage for its citizens if a major crisis arose out of a potential North Korean nuclear test, which some have predicted could happen this weekend.

Japanese authorities are also readying for a potential wave of North Korean refugees to pour into the country, amongst whom could be hidden spies and agents, Japanese media reported.

When she was young, Gabrielle Balassone, of Westminster, always wanted to host her own nature show. While she dreamed of spending days outside helping audiences appreciate nature, those dreams probably would have transitioned into nightmares if she knew she'd do all of that while hungry, in the nude and operating on just a few hours of sleep.

On Sunday, Balassone makes her television debut, as the Discovery Channel airs her episode of "Naked and Afraid" — a survival show in which guests are left out in the wilderness with no food, shelter or even clothes.

There will be at least 100 employers looking to fill thousands of seasonal and full time positions throughout Ocean City at the 32nd annual job fair on Saturday. The event will be held at the convention center on 40th Street, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“The competition is incredible for the higher paying jobs at a busy restaurant or in retail,” said Melanie Pursel, executive director for the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. “Here in Ocean City, that face-to-face for hiring is vital for our hospitality industry. You can get a jump start on the best jobs in town.”

There is no fee for job seekers to attend. Positions will be available in hospitality, stores on the Boardwalk, bars, lifeguarding, watersports, marinas, restaurants, hotels, banks, amusement parks, specialty stores, motels, staffing agencies and Ocean City Transportation, among others.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump signaled Hillary Clinton could yet be prosecuted, emphasizing the point by noting it was not yet too late to ask FBI Director James Comey to resign.

“When Jim Comey came out, he saved Hillary Clinton. People don’t realize that. He saved her life,” Trump told Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo. “When he was reading those charges, she was guilty of every charge, and then he said she was essentially OK.”

Bartiromo also asked Trump why he had not asked for Comey to resign, noting he was one of many Obama-era staffers still in the Trump administration.

With the world still abuzz over the first ever deployment of the GBU-43/B "Mother Of All Bombs" in Afghanistan, where it reportedly killed some 36 ISIS fighters, in a less noticed statement the US National Nuclear Security Administration quietly announced overnight the first successful field test of the modernized, "steerable" B61-12 gravity thermonuclear bomb in Nevada.

In a well-timed statement, just as tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and potential US airstrikes run wild, the NNSA said that in conjunction with the US Air Force, it had completed the first qualification flight test of B61-12 gravity nuclear bomb on March 14 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.

In the press release, the NNSA said that the "non-nuclear assembly test" was dropped from an F-16 based at Nellis Air Force Base and was intended to evaluate "both the weapon’s non-nuclear functions as well as the aircraft’s capability to deliver the weapon."

This test was the first of a series that will be conducted over the next three years to qualify the B61-12 for service. Three successful development flight tests were conducted in 2015.

Last year’s Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a bill which allowed Americans to sue Saudi Arabia in US court over their involvement in 9/11, has yielded another major lawsuit yesterday, a $4.2 billion suit filed by over two dozen US insurers related to losses sustained because of the 2001 attack.

"But for the assistance provided by defendants," the lawsuit said, "al Qaeda could not have successfully planned, coordinated, and carried out the September 11th attacks, which were a foreseeable and intended result of their material support and sponsorship of al Qaeda."

The 10 defendants in the lawsuit include Al Rajhi Bank, aviation contractor Dallah Avco, the Mohamed Binladin Co, the Muslim World League, and other charities, but the biggest target is the Saudi National Commercial Bank, which is majority state-owned. The Saudi government heavily pressured the Obama Administration to block the JASTA last year, threatening to crash the US treasury market if it led to lawsuits, but overwhelming Congressional support still got it passed into law.

CNN has said the similarity between the French presidential election and the U.S. presidential election is “frightening” as they predict Marine Le Pen’s polling numbers could be much higher than current polls indicate.

The U.S. presidential election in 2016 saw more than its fair share of twists and turns, ultimately leading to an electoral college victory for President Donald Trump. CNNclaims the French election is looking similar in many ways as establishment candidates like Republican François Fillon and Socialist party Benoit Hamon are pushed out of the race.

The piece, which was written by David A. Andelman, claims that French media is behaving much like U.S. media did in the run-up to the election, “effectively baptising one of the two leading candidates the winner even before the first ballot is cast”.

French newspaper Le Monde asked readers: “What would the first months of an Emmanuel Macron presidency look like?” which Andelman said evoked U.S. media who claimed that Hillary Clinton could not lose. Some outlets like the Huffington Post gave her a 98.2 per centchance to win on election day.